SUNY-ESF offering biomass internships

The State University of New York’s College of Environmental Science and Forestry (SUNY-ESF) announced it will offer summer biomass internships to students interested in learning about biomass and local companies working within the industry.

This is the first time biomass internships will be offered in the Syracuse area, according to Timothy Volk, co-director of the SUNY-ESF Center for Sustainable and Renewable Energy.

Volk said the program is aimed at creating links with the companies within the 12-county region in central New York that are working on biomass issues. It will provide students with hands-on experience in working in the biomass field, and also expose participating companies to some prospective employees.

"This region is moving forward in the biomass area," Volk said. "The resources are here, the research is being done here and there are businesses here doing work in the field. The next step is to provide a trained work force."

The summer biomass internship program is run collaboratively by ESF, the Syracuse Center of Excellence and the CenterState Corporation for Economic Opportunity. The program is supported by funding from the USDA.

Internships, which will be paid, are only available to students enrolled at ESF and Syracuse University. The deadline for applying is April 8.